A new database proposed by grassroots activists is now online, allowing Texans to easily find information on local governments’ property tax-backed bond debt and tax rate increases.
Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock called the database “Big news for taxpayers” and a “BIG step for transparency and accountability.”
“Now Texans can see exactly how much debt their local governments carry, what bonds voters approved, and how those dollars are being used,” Hancock posted on X.
The Texas Bond, Tax, and Project Database is posted on the comptroller’s website.
A new law, passed by the Texas Legislature last year as House Bill 103, required the comptroller to develop and maintain a database containing current and historical information on property taxes imposed and bonds issued.
The database includes:
- Ballot language for bonds;
- Projected tax rates for debt service;
- Estimated minimum annual debt service requirements resulting from the issuance of a bond;
- Election results for bond approvals;
- Lists of funded projects and accounting for bond proceeds;
- Tax rate changes resulting from issued bonds;
- Election results for tax rate elections;
- Proposed or approved maintenance tax rates for school districts; and
- Ballot language for school district maintenance taxes.
All local government entities that are authorized to impose property taxes must report this data for all property tax rate elections and proposed or issued bonds that are to be repaid using property tax revenue.
Grassroots activist Amy Hedtke Teal, known for organizing campaigns against bonds and tax hikes across the state, advocated for the database as her top recommendation to improve local government transparency and accountability to taxpayers.
“Bring back the statewide bond election database and add tax rate elections,” Teal testified to Texas lawmakers during a November 2024 legislative hearing on property tax reforms.
The Texas Bond Review Board discontinued publishing its bond election roundup a few years ago without explanation.
Teal then took on the task of collecting information about local bond and tax rate elections on each May and November ballot and sharing it with other activists.
Her recommendation to revive and expand the database is now a reality, and Teal is a local government official practicing what she preaches. She was elected in 2025 to the Whitney City Council.
No upcoming 2026 bond or tax elections are listed in the database.
The deadline for local governments to place elections on the May 2, 2026, ballot is February 13.
